The present invention relates to a folding partition with partition sections joined to each other by a fabric hinge and which are to be at least partly carried on rollers along a rail fastened a ceiling.
It is known to partition off as desired either rooms themselves or rooms which provide the only access to another room by means of a folding partition, while permitting the partition to be pushed together in the most compact arrangement when not in use.
There are known two types of folding partitions and folding doors: They are the double wall type on the one hand and the single wall type on the other.
The present invention relates to the second-mentioned type, that is, a single wall folding partition or door. As compared to the double wall type, this type requires considerably less material, but also is less effective in the damping of sound.
Since the folding partition or door includes individual partition sections which must be interconnected so that a pushing together of the partition sections may be accomplished without difficulty, certain requirements are set for the interconnecting hinges of the partition sections. On the one hand, the hinges should provide a strong connection which preferably seals entirely the space between the sections. On the other hand, the space between the sections should preferably be indistinguishable from the sections.
There is known a single wall folding partition or door in which the individual sections are interconnected by helical springs which are perpendicular to the hinged side faces of the sections. Such springs are so spaced from the first to the last section that they hold together the individual sections and at the same time permit provide sufficient elasticity to permit pushing the sections together with little effort. The space which in the meantime appears between the sections is covered by molding strips which are fastened to the mentioned springs. While thereby the space is covered, there is no complete sealing of the space.
There is known a suitable sealing with a double wall type partition, in which the sections are interconnected on the inside by a fabric hinge. This arrangement permits keeping the space between the sections relatively small, so that they are hardly noticeable on the outer side. This arrangement cannot be used for a single wall type, since otherwise the fabric hinge would be visible on the side of the partition corresponding to the inner side of the double wall type. Thus, such a single wall arrangement would avoid uncovered hinges, but would have the disadvantage of not providing complete sealing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding partition designed so that there may be used the strong and reliable fabric hinge without it being visible, and so that it is made possible to readily fasten and replace the fabric hinge.